Clarksville Set For Fiber ReferendumMunicipal electric company possible provider ( old news - 08:07AM Wednesday Aug 16 2006) tags: competition · coverageThe Clarksville (TN) Department of Electricity wants to be that area's next broadband provider, and residents will get their say in the matter with a November referendum. The CDE, a municipal provider of electricity, wants to connect all 51,500 customers to a fiber-optic network. "(The referendum) will either let us to begin offering (telecommunications) services, or it will not," said Ken Spradlin, general manager of CDE. "The impetus for us is for our electrical system." Spradlin adds that the additional telecom services will help recoup the cost of installing and maintaining the network. City and county government offices are taking advantage of 125 miles of already existing fiber optics. Fiber supporter Bill Larson, the administrator for Clarksville Online, notes in his blog: "The current providers of these information services, Charter Communications and Bellsouth, have no natural incentives to make the expenditures which are necessary to modernize their systems, and to provide us with the quality and levels of service we require. They have made an uneasy truce with each other, neither wishing to rock the boat by actually competing." But they'll certainly put up opposition. CDE has hired Waterhouse Public Relations, a Chattanooga-based firm, to help with PR. "There have been some relatively bloody fights in some other communities," Spradlin said.
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 ricep5
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Jacksonville, FL
 ·AT&T Southeast
 ·AT&T CallVantage
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1 edit | Consolidated Billing and Metering Just the potential savings of having an on line metering system would make this a large value for CDE. No more meter readers driving around in trucks walking through back yards.
You already have a billing system with accounts for each household.
In 20 years CDE should have every house converted and connected to the fiber, even if they don't subscribe to the cable/telecom service. | |
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nixen
Rockin' the Boxen
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join:2002-10-04
Alexandria, VA
 ·Cox HSI
·Speakeasy
| Re: Consolidated Billing and Metering said by ricep5  :Just the potential savings of having an on line metering system would make this a large value for CDE. No more meter readers driving around in trucks walking through back yards. In several communities I've lived in, there were IR meter ports on the fronts of houses. Water and electric guys would drive past, wave their IR wands and collect a reading. No need to get out of their vehicle or go into a yard and risk an angry dog (etc.).
-tom
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"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficial. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well meaning but without understanding." -Louis D Brandeis | |
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slcpd6469
join:2003-09-25
Saint Louis, MO | Charter not spending money Charter doesn't want to spend money to upgrade their network to better serve its customers. Ive never heard such a lie.  | |
| | bamabrad
join:2006-01-27
Port Orange, FL | Re: Charter not spending money Just how much verifiable money has Charter spent in this city? | |
| | | shoan
join:2006-02-27
Benton, AR
| Re: Charter not spending money if it is not a lie why does in the year of 2006 does Charter still have areas that do not ahve HSI provided at all. And don't seem to be making any moves to upgrade oru area. So until Chater starts offering more than two packages of cable then no they are not really upgradeing in my eyes. Only the quick and easy places. | |
| | | | Skippy25
join:2000-09-13
Hazelwood, MO | Re: Charter not spending money Maybe their current $16 BILLION (yes that is 9 0's) is hampering thier ability to upgrade. | |
| | | | | shoan
join:2006-02-27
Benton, AR
| Re: Charter not spending money Oh I truly believe that it is the debt that is hampering them. Seems like they would want to sell off the areas that are not upgraded and bring down some of that debt but I do not know the internal workings of charter nor do I try to fathom why they do what they do. | |
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rob_in_chatt
Premium
join:2004-09-17
Chattanooga, TN
·Comcast
| fiber the power company here in Chattanooga has a fiber-op network downtown, and last i remember comcrap pitched a fit about that. all the business downtown use it but that is the extent of it. i wish they would extend it to the communities so it would keep comcrap more honest. | |
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BBStores
Premium
join:2005-10-02
Stone Mountain, GA | CDE Clarksville As a family that spends time in Clarksville TN, my impression is that the areas internet offerings are in need of some competition. Kudos to any effort to bring in FTTH / FTTP. | |
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LUS not
@cox.net
 from:
MMH
| CDE hate to be pessimistic but I doubt this will ever happen. the RBOC's and cable providers will tie these folks up in court and with the state regulatory boards for years. their lawyers are chomping at the bit- | |
| | Kearnstd
Elf Wizard
Premium
join:2002-01-22
Mullica Hill, NJ
| Re: CDE they really cant stop it since its the electric company and they could claim they are doing it for meter reading then accidently offer internet services(remember you dont need a franchise to offer internet)
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MMH
Premium
join:2002-03-03
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·Comcast
|  Electric customers will be funding this internet project
As an authority, CDE could have assumed the bonds necessary to install the fiber-optic network required for CDE's expansion. Under November's referendum, the revenue bonds issued for the project will be in Clarksville's name.
According to the business plan approved by the state Comptroller of the Treasury office, the project would require $55,184,883 in bonds.
The plan assumes an interest rate of 5 percent, creating an additional $33,211,546 owed in interest, for a total debt service of $88,396,429 to be paid over 20 years.
If the referendum is approved, CDE will eventually connect all of its 51,500 customers to a fiber-optic network. The cost of this plan is $86/yr per customer. Will the savings on meter reading offset that cost? And if the internet project gets clobbered by competition, will the electric ratepayers have to pick up the tab. Cross-subsidization is usually not a good idea.
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rit56
join:2000-12-01
New York, NY | Re: Electric customers will be funding this internet project "Cross-subsidization is usually not a good idea" especially when you're heavily vested in a competitors stocks like you are. | |
| | ricep5
Premium
join:2000-08-07
Jacksonville, FL
·AT&T Southeast
·AT&T CallVantage
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| When you factor in the hourly costs, plus fringe and transporation costs to acquire the meter data. Assuming IR or UHF meter automation is not available in 45 to 60 percent of their connected clients. Plus, reduction in back office support from those who plug in the wands or transcribe the manual meter reads from paper into the system. MAC's (move, adds, changes) wouldn't change as they would be doing that for either system.
Also, imagine the billing efficiencies they would have with their largest commercial clients. Instead of producing a billing statement 2 weeks after the meter read, they could bill the next day! With a net/30 billing, they could get millions of dollars much earlier than before. That would also offset the initial costs to deploy and reduce interest expense.
If this was a publicly held utility like Duke Energy or Pico or Unicom, I would say they have a pretty good deal on their hands. Since Clarksville isn't served by a publicly traded power company, this is their only choice.
Sounds like a great solution technically and financially to me. I am surprised more utilities don't embrace it. | |
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cline3621
Mr. Yuk is MEAN Mr. Yuk is GREEN
Premium
join:2006-06-14
Clarksville, TN
 ·CDE
|  Re: Electric customers will be funding this internet project
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BF69
join:2004-07-28
Camden, TN
| Re: Electric customers will be funding this internet project said by cline3621 : Then again this is Tennessee, and some of the stereotypes about us like eating mayonnaise sandwiches and messing with you sister are true, especially around places like Erin, Tennessee Ridge, Big Sandy, and Camden. I live in Camden after have lived in Illinois and Florida and I concur that the natives are nothing, but undereducated, ignorant hillbillies. Charter and BellSouth both suck. Charter offers other customerts 5 and even 10 meg while Bellsouth offers 6 Meg, but here in Redneckland 3 meg is the best they can offer. Funny thing is that both Charter and BS started offering 3 meg over 3 years ago before Comcast started to offer 3 meg in Waverly and yet now they can get 8 meg for the same price as I'm paying for 3 meg. Waverly isn't any bigger than Camden. I wish Comcast would buy our area out from Charter. | |
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Bill Larson
@charter.com
| 86$ per year per customer. $4,386,000 total costs,
Ok so lets say they charge 20$ or so a month for homes and businesses using their fiber for telecommunications services. Which is $240 per year. So with just 18,275 customers using their data services, this pays for it's self. What do you want to bet that they have that many customers using it in the first few months this service is offered. I will be one of them the moment it is available.
Remember CDE is not out to make a profit only to cover their costs. | |
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Bill Larson
@charter.com
| My response on this subject Part 1 We discussed this issue in two places, the CDE Requests to Provide Additional Services, and on a Rant one of my authors posted Charter Sucks!
Charter Communication and Bellsouth people are already trolling on this issue. I had a Charter Communications employee Wiley Bird make a comment against this referendum on my blog. I responded to him in some detail.
You likely have people who have a vested interest trolling these forums arguing against this referendum as well. So, I ask each of the people who are here posting against it, the same question I asked Mr Bird before I later discovered that he was a Charter employee.
I noticed that you did not disclose your connections with Bellsouth or Charter cable, and based on your comment it’s clear you have them with one or both. I would be interested in hearing about them. Are you a employee, consultant, PR person, stock holder, or lobbyist with either Bellsouth or Charter Communications. I bet your answer would have to be Yes.
In the interest of openness and complete disclosure, I have no connections with CDE, Charter Communications, or Bellsouth. I am just a Clarksville Resident who has looked at the current options and found them wanting. Vote yes on this Referendum. You might also notice from the domain name displayed under my name that I am a charter customer, so I have first hand experience at how much Clarksville needs CDE to be able to offer competition to Charter and Bellsouth. | |
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Bill Larson
@charter.com
| Part 2 re-framing the debate It’s currently CDE’s plan to run fiber to every home. It’s in their interest to do so. They are not required to ask permission to do it, only to offer other services over the network they are already planning on building. In reality it’s simply a question of how you wish to pay for it. In higher electricity rates as they tack it on your electric bill, or via a long term low interest rate public bond. they can also reduce the total cost to the public by the revenue they generate from the services that they sell over the fiber, that is if we vote to allow them to do so.
So the answer is simple vote yes. | |
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